Pune: JM Road, FC Road and Ganeshkhind Road will be closed to vehicular traffic after 9am on Monday to facilitate bicycle riders from 40 countries participating in the Pune Grand Tour. Schools and colleges in nearby areas, as well as the old city, will also remain shut for the day.Joint police commissioner Ranjan Kumar Sharma on Saturday said, “Offices, IT firms, restaurants, malls and other establishments will remain open. Employees, shoppers and visitors are, however, advised to park their vehicles at a distance and walk to their destinations.”Sharma said shutting JM Road, FC Road and Ganeshkhind Road would increase the load on alternative routes like Karve Road, LBS Road and Law College Road. “To manage this impact, we decided to restrict vehicular movement on some adjoining roads as well, including those in the old city,” he said.Additional commissioner of police Manoj Patil urged residents of Deccan Gymkhana to avoid using their vehicles on Monday. “The sportspersons will begin their 8km time-lap rides from Good Luck Chowk, ending at the PMPML bus stop on JM Road after passing through Ganeshkhind Road,” he said, adding that the intensity of these laps makes it unsafe to allow other vehicles on the route.Traffic in other parts of the city will also be partially affected through the day.To ease movement, police have created a temporary ring road. Motorists travelling towards Pune Station or Nagar Road from Kothrud or Sinhagad Road can proceed to Paud Phata and then use Law College Road-Senapati Bapat Road-Aundh Road-Spicer College Road to reach the old Pune-Mumbai highway. Those heading to Kothrud or Sinhagad Road from the opposite side can reach RTO Chowk and use various old-city routes to get to Senadatta Police Chowky, from where they can proceed to Mhatre Bridge and then Nal Stop.“We will barricade JM Road, FC Road and Ganeshkhind Road, along with access roads leading to them, to ensure no vehicles enter these stretches,” Sharma said.
